Although the commercial aircraft and airline industries have developed an enviable safety record there remains a continuing need to improve the safety of aircraft. Each year hundreds of passengers and crew members perish or are injured due to aircraft equipment failures, operational errors, terrorism or other causes. Fire and smoke inhalation often kill people involved in aircraft accidents which occur during takeoff and landing. Inertial forces experienced during crashes of aircraft are also very significant in causing injuries and death.
In addition to the inherent risks of travel at aircraft speeds, there are additional factors which appear to be increasing the risks of air travel. These factors include: (1) increased air traffic and air traffic congestion, especially near terminals; (2) aging aircraft which show increasing evidence of structural, mechanical and electrical failures; (3) decreasing levels of pilot experience; (4) evidence of some drug and alcohol abuse among pilots, maintenance crews and air traffic controllers; (5) evidence of violations of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules by pilots and other crew members; (6) increased traffic and stress on air traffic controllers and the air traffic control systems of many major airports; and , (7) outdated FAA safety regulations and standards for passenger accommodations.
These and other factors have caused a significant increase in public concern about the safety of air travel. Additionally, there is greater publicity concerning all aircraft disasters, even incidents where no damage has occurred but safety has been compromised. The above factors, coupled with the problems of terrorism and hijacking, have placed grave concerns in the minds of many people as to the safety of air travel.
Aside from the safety problems associated with air travel, there is also a significant and justifiable concern about the safety of travel in other forms of public and private transportation, such as trains. An alarming number of train accidents have occurred in recent years, many due to operational errors and deteriorating track and equipment conditions. These problems and concerns about safety have been underscored by increasing interest in high speed trains due to the recent advances in superconductivity and the potential for magnetically elevated high speed trains. Increasing train speeds necessarily subject passengers to increasing risks of high inertial forces during emergency stops, crashes and derailments.
Thus it can be appreciated that substantial room for improvement exists in passenger accommodations in aircraft, trains and other high speed passenger vehicles. The present invention addresses many safety concerns associated with such travel and provides means for protecting occupants and increasing confidence in the safety of high speed travel.